Royal staffer reveals insight into Kate Middleton and Prince William's relationship away from cameras
Former butler Grant Harrold has opened up about his time spent working for the Royal Family, revealing a bunch of sweet details about Prince William and Kate Middleton’s relationship – particularly how the pair were in the early days of their blossoming romance.
In true love story-style, the then-19-year-olds found their fate together when moving into the same halls of residence at the University of St Andrews. The pair became close friends, which ultimately led to a romantic relationship during their second year.
Harrold is now an etiquette expert, but during his time as butler to King Charles III (then Prince of Wales) he saw the family dynamic unfold at each stage. He witnessed both Queen Consort Camilla and Kate enter the family, he watched Prince Harry and William go to university, and he was there to experience Queen Elizabeth II and the Duke of Edinburgh’s 60th wedding anniversary.
More recently, during an interview with Slingo, Harrold lifted the lid on his time at Highgrove House, where he observed the Prince and Princess of Wales’s connection blossom. It was through his role that he built a very special connection in particular with William and Kate.
Recalling the early days, the former butler confessed the pair were "love struck". He said: "When they [Kate and William] stopped dating for a little while it was horrifying to me because I adored both of them, luckily they got back together."
When asked what William and Kate’s relationship was like when they first started dating, Harrold casually said: "Oh, like any boyfriend and girlfriend."
He then adds: "[They weren't] any different to anyone else. It's mad saying that when you think about who they are. It's quite strange now when you see them as a family and as senior Royals, to think that the days I was with them, they'd only just left university."
Reminiscing further on the couple's young love, Harrold points out that Kate really stood out, in all the right ways.
"What I liked was that Kate, being a girlfriend and obviously not a member of the family, would be with me and the other staff and she was so polite, friendly, and fun and making jokes," he said.
Diving into just how close he was to William and Kate, Harrold admits he often received candid texts from William, but they would never surprise him. "When my phone used to go off, and it was William, all my friends would be like, ‘That's so cool’, but to me, it was normal. That was the relationship I had with them," he said.
Feeling grateful for the moments he had among the Royals, Harrold added: "There's very few people that the Royals actually get to know, so you do feel lucky that you were trusted with that."
Fast forward to now, Harrold is still keen to emphasise just how proud he is of getting to be around the Royals in the way he was. "I feel very proud to have done that, to have looked after them and to have known them. I’ve been gone 11 years now and yet I’m still really lucky that people still want to hear the stories. I think it’s nice for people to hear that the Royals are nice people, they are down to earth and it’s a fun place to be."
All sounds rather lovely, to be honest.
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